1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to detection of location information about a user. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for detecting location information about a user using a radio navigation system and a pedestrian navigation system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal navigation systems have been designed to provide person-centered route guidance. Such systems locate a pedestrian to be route-guided and guide the pedestrian to a route based on his or her location. Personal navigation systems can be classified into a satellite navigation system, an inertial navigation system, a pedestrian navigation system, and the like, according to movement types.
A satellite navigation system can provide information about a current location and a route to a desired destination to a user using satellites. An example of a satellite navigation system is a car navigation system.
A car navigation system locates a vehicle, provides the vehicle's driver with an optimum route, and guides the driver along the optimum route. In general, a car navigation system calculates the current location of the vehicle using a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor and provides route guidance from the current location to a destination.
An inertial navigation system calculates the acceleration of a user by means of an accelerometer such as a gyroscope sensor, calculates the current velocity of the user based on the acceleration, and detects the current location of the user based on the velocity. The inertial navigation system is applied mainly to a submarine, an aircraft, a missile, etc. Recently, route guidance has been provided to vehicles or aircrafts using a composite navigation system having an accelerometer in addition to the satellite navigation system.
A pedestrian navigation system provides pedestrian-centered route guidance; not car-centered route guidance. Although the pedestrian navigation system is similar to the car navigation system, the former measures the location of a route-guidance object more accurately and provides more detailed route guidance than the latter because the route-guidance object is a pedestrian, which is slower than a car.
Accordingly, the car navigation system and the pedestrian navigation system provide route guidance using different algorithms. For example, the navigation system locates a car using a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, whereas the pedestrian navigation system locates a pedestrian by detecting the pedestrian's steps and strides. Therefore, these two navigation systems should each have dedicated navigation devices for performing their own algorithms.
However, in a case where both a car navigation device and a pedestrian navigation device are necessary, a user must purchase both navigation devices, resulting in increased cost and less portability. In this context, a composite navigation device has recently been developed to enable the car navigation system and the pedestrian navigation system to be used together.
A shortcoming with the composite navigation device is that a user should manually switch an operation mode between the car navigation system and the pedestrian navigation system. That is, to use the pedestrian navigation system while using the car navigation system, the user must end the car navigation system manually and then activate the pedestrian navigation system, or vice versa.
Therefore, navigation devices of the related art inconveniently require a user to manually select the car navigation system or the pedestrian navigation system. Moreover, if the user selects a wrong navigation system by mistake, incorrect route guidance may be provided to the user.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.